There’s a belief that the Presidents Cup has not been competitive since its inception, and the results provide little evidence to the contrary. That’s not quite true; the Internationals nearly won in 2019 at Royal Melbourne and probably should have won in South Korea in 2015. Still, there’s only so much context that can be applied to one victory in three decades, and as NFL Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells said, “You are what your record says you are.”
That lopsided history produces a wave of proposed fixes before every Presidents Cup, but our Shane Ryan wrote a forensic accounting of how the event got here, tracing a series of failures on both the International and American sides that have left the competition in its current state. Saying the Internationals “need” to win at Medinah for the health of the event might sound alarmist, yet it may undersell the stakes. With new PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp in charge, every part of the tour’s competitive architecture is being evaluated, and his aim is clear: build a product fans want to watch and give them a reason to care. He also has shown little interest in preserving ideas simply because they have survived this long.
If the Presidents Cup delivers another runaway American victory, the future of the event, at least in its current form, could be in doubt. It doesn’t need to become the Ryder Cup to justify its existence, but the Presidents Cup can no longer afford to remain what it has become.
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On Monday, the USGA and R&A sent a notice to equipment manufacturers about three Model Local Rules under consideration. It’s the first time they have addressed the distance issue since the USGA, R&A, PGA Tour and DP World Tour issued a joint statement in June promising to "explore alternative approaches." Comments are due on Oct. 21 with these three MLR—requested by the tours themselves—possibly going live for the 2028 season:
• A 317-yard conforming golf ball cap, tested by USGA/R&A standards, but without the current three-yard test tolerance that currently lets balls measuring up to 320 yards stay conforming.
• A driver Characteristic Time (CT) limit of 239 microseconds, the same number in use since 2004 but without the current tolerance buffer that lets drivers test as high as 257 and still conform.
• A max club length shorter than the current 46-inch rule.
For recreational golfers who are worried this could affect their equipment, it's important to note that none of the rules would touch your bag. These are Model Local Rules that the tours would opt-in for, not changes to the equipment rules impacting all golfers.
But here's the skeptic's read: Two of the three provisions may have minimal impact. The CT rule doesn't lower the ceiling on face flexibility and there's limited evidence a driver testing at 257 actually flies even a full yard farther than one at 239. Meanwhile, the average driver length on tour already sits around 44½ to 44¾ inches, well short of the current 46-inch limit, so shrinking that ceiling further would affect only a handful of outliers. Here’s our full story.
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The Presidents Cup got rolling Tuesday as players and media arrived at Medinah for the 16th edition of the U.S. vs. Internationals event. The expectation is that there won't be a lot of intrigue on the course with the International team having lost 10 straight matches and once again playing sans LIV pros. But where there is always plenty of drama lately is at the concessions tent, where beer prices have become the talk of the gallery once again. In contrast to the downright exploitative pricing seen at majors and Ryder Cups the past decade, the buzz around the Presidents Cup beer prices is ... pretty good actually? In a sports world where $16 Bud Lights have become the rule not the exception, a Goose Island for $11.50 is a step in the right direction. If you're looking to pinch some pennies (and calories), the Michelob Ultra clocks in at $10.50, which is not too far off what a gallon of gas will cost soon. So have heart, gallery goers. Maybe all our complaining has finally paid off.
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Ben Roethlisberger can still slang it. Well, not on the football field, though we're sure he can still spin the pigskin around when nobody's looking. We're talking about the golf course, where the Steelers QB legend apparently made six birdies and shot a two-under 70 on his own ball in a charity event, the Ten Memorial, that multiple tour pros are competing in at St. Clair Country Club in Pittsburgh. That’s a score that bested Neal Shipley, who nearly won a PGA Tour event in North Carolina and posted a two-over 74 in the opening round of the Ten Invitational. It's real, go check out the leader board here. Big Ben followed it up with a 75 in Round 2, which is being played today.
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